The chilling warning came last month in a Canadian newspaper, which also revealed that the 31 year-old's preferred victims were white, middle-aged curlers and that Canadian ice sheets were his favourite stalking ground.

After the notorious 'Moncton Massacre' of last year, the Scottish slayer had struck again in Orillia, Ontario, with the same callous disrespect for human life.

"It's very amusing," laughs Murdoch, Britain's best hope of Olympic gold in Vancouver, who hopes his killer-curler portrayal will give him the psychological upper hand when the curling competition begins on Tuesday.

If winning gold means playing the role of bloody-thirsty villain, then give him the weapon and lead him to his prey. Lead him to Kevin Martin, bound and gagged on the ice.

Martin, 43, is Canada's most successful and high-profile curler, who has skipped teams to more than $2 million in prize money.

He won an Olympic silver medal in Salt Lake City in 2002, the world title in 2008 and, in a country that boasts more than 90 per cent of the world's curlers, will be a national hero if he ends the Olympic tournament on the top tier of the medal podium.

His problem is Murdoch, skip of the British quartet. A natural-born curler, if not killer, Murdoch sent down his first rock at the age of 10 in his home town of Lockerbie and has since amassed two junior world, three European and two senior world titles. And, lately, he cannot stop beating Martin.

Despite enjoying home advantage at last year's World Championships in Moncton, Martin lost to Murdoch in the round-robin phase, lost again when they met in the last-four play-off and suffered a humiliating third defeat to the Scot in the final.

If that was not painful enough, Murdoch made it four successive wins over Martin last month, at the Casino Rama Curling Skins in Orillia. A pattern is emerging. The same modus operandi.

One common thread is that all four Murdoch victories were achieved in front of a partisan Canadian crowd. Just like the 6,000-strong audience that will pack the Vancouver Olympic Centre next week.

Murdoch admits that he and his team-mates – Euan Byers, Peter Smith and Ewan MacDonald – thrive in hostile environments. Hence his happiness to be cast as the Olympic bad guy.

"This team is really renowned for performing when it's up against it," he said. "Having the crowd against you makes you focus harder and I think the intensity of your game increases."

Murdoch, Byers and MacDonald have something else to help concentrate their minds. They were part of the Team GB quartet in Turin four years ago.

As now, Murdoch's all-Scottish team were considered one of Britain's hottest medal prospects at the 2006 Olympics but a semi-final defeat to Finland followed by a loss to the United States in the bronze-medal match meant they returned home empty-handed.

"That was one of the hardest moments of my curling career and I think that for the boys who were in the team, it still hurts them," he said. "I try to use the memory of Turin as an inspirational thing because you want to keep pushing yourself harder in the gym, pushing yourself harder in training."

The gym work is a cornerstone of Team Murdoch's preparations for Vancouver, showing how far the sport has moved on since the cigarette-smoking Rhona Martin won Olympic gold in 2002.

The Salt Lake City ice sheet even had a competitors' smoking room.

Nowadays, curling is all about cardiovascular workouts and weight programmes to build sweeping strength and endurance.

"Curling might look like just having a bit of slide on the ice but when these guys are sweeping they are at 90 to 100 per cent of their maximum heart rate," said Murdoch.

His athletic build is testament to his work ethic, though he admits that in Vancouver whoever is coolest under pressure will prevail.

"You have to have the intensity to get through each game, and also a lot of patience," he said. "You just have to understand that there are ends that might go wrong and it's all about how you turn them around and change them into winning opportunities and bounce back from a possible loss."

It is a killer's instinct – the patient stakeout before striking the lethal blow. Vancouver had better to be vigilant. David Murdoch is on the prowl.

Brits to follow in Vancouver

SHELLEY RUDMAN (skeleton): Her silver at the 2006 Turin Olympics was Britain’s only medal of the Games. This time the 28 year-old has the chance to go one better as long as she can outpace her principal rival, Canada’s Melissa Hollingsworth.

KRISTAN BROMLEY (skeleton): The partner of Rudman, Bromley will be hoping to make it a podium double to wipe away the memory of his fifth-placed finish at the Turin Olympics.

ZOE GILLINGS (snowboard cross): What is it about the Isle of Man? After the success of cyclist Mark Cavendish, Gillings is the latest athlete to come off the Manx production line, and the islanders could well be celebrating a medal if the 24 year-old can stay out of trouble in the rough and tumble of the knockout rounds.

JON ELEY (short-track skating): At 6ft 2in, Eley, 25, was disappointed to finish fifth at the Turin Olympics but now regards himself as a far more accomplished skater. He is ranked third in the world in his specialist event, the 500 metres.

NICOLA MINICHIELLO & GILLIAN COOKE (two-woman bobsleigh): Minichiello is competing in her third Olympics as a bobsleigh driver. She teamed up with Scottish athlete Gillian Cooke, 27, to take the world title last year and has her sights set on the medal podium.